This invention relates to a process for producing laminated ornamental glass which utilizes computer integrated manufacturing technique instead of conventional printing methods to have coating layers with desired painting or pattern printed or coated onto the glass substrate of the laminated ornamental glass in a more efficient and economical way than conventional processes.
As living standards improve, people are paying more attention to the construction of outer walls of buildings, windows and doors as well as interior decoration, furniture and partitions, with corresponding regard to luminosity, safety and privacy.
Conventionally, the ornamental glass for an interior partition, such as a screen or an inlaid plate of wall, is prepared by (1) printing a desired colored pattern directly onto a single sheet of glass, (2) reprinting on or adhering by an adhesive directly to a glass substrate a desired colored pattern which is printed in advance on a resin film or paper, or (3) printing a desired pattern of ceramic color frit onto a single sheet of glass followed by heat treatment and then coating a varnish on or adhering a resin film to said printed glass as a protective layer. As to the first two methods of producing conventional ornamental glass, the desired colored pattern printed by such methods on one of the surfaces of a single sheet of glass is exposed to the air, and is therefore subject to sunlight or oxidation so that the color of said pattern will change and fade, as well as being subject to damage when cleaning. In addition, among these aforementioned methods, some require a good printing technique for printing the desired colored pattern printed in advance on a resin film or paper on a sheet of glass, and glass-laminating skills for obtaining the desired delicate pattern as well as a bubble-free ornamental glass, so the cost of production is high. Moreover, the material of the colored pattern printed on conventional ornamental glass is an opaque glaze pigment, paint, oil ink or a mixture thereof which after a period of time will fade away while being exposed to sunshine (infrared ray or ultraviolet rays), so such ornamental glass can only be used indoors.
Consequently, as disclosed in U.S. patent application No. 07/966,480, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,913, which has been granted by the same applicant of the present invention, a laminated ornamental glass with three coating layers having pattern and figures printed or coated on the glass substrate thereof, which can be used indoors as well as outdoors, has been developed.
Conventional printing methods or otherwise for coating layers having pattern and figures can no longer satisfactorily and economically meet the increased demand by consumers for a variety in the design of pattern and figures of the coating layers. In addition, conventional printing methods or otherwise are time-consuming and cannot meet the increasing demand for shorterning the period of production. Therefore, solutions to the above problems are desirable.